Avatar's Anastasia
by Litacanrana45
Summary: The daughter of the last Southern Water Tribe Chief, Katara, is found by two Fire Nation men, Zuko and Iroh, who seek the reward that her grandmother, Kana, promised to the ones who'll find her. But the evil mystic of the royal family, Ozai, still wants the Royal Southern Water Tribe family to be destroyed forever. Rated M because you never know.
1. Chapter 1

**_Once we lived in an enchanted world,_**

**_A world of Chiefs and Princesses and elegant palaces, _**

**_And grand parties,_**

**_A beautiful, magical time,_**

_**That would soon be gone forever.**_

* * *

The palace illuminates brilliant colors as the day turns into night and the summer cools into winter. The palace at night is blanketed in a beautiful, almost glowing, snow as polar bear-dog drawn carriages pull up to the front door.

Inside, elegant royalists mingle around the main hall as an orchestra plays. All eyes turn to the ice elevators so flawless they could have been mistaken for glass, as two skilled waterbenders descend the lifts grandly on either side of a beautiful staircase. Through the ice doors is Kana, the Empress of the Southern Water Tribe, imperious and bedecked with jewels that make her seemingly unapproachable. Her son, Chief Hakoda and his son Sokka are with her. In the other elevator is Kya and missing, their obviously absent daughter Katara.

Katara, eight years old and apparently late for the party, rushes down the upstairs hallway followed by a servent, Hama, who is trying to catch up with Katara to tie a large blue ribbon in her long, dark hair.

"Princess Katara – you're late and it's all my fault!" Hama whispered apologetically as Katara waved her hand cooly.

"Don't worry, Hama, no one'll notice…"

Just then, Hama lassoes the ribbon around her hair, stopping Katara with an "Owwwww!" Katara shrieks loudly.

All eyes turn to Katara, who now realizes that she's the center of attention, flashes a mischievous smile and descends the staircase in grand style. As the ribbon falls out of her hair and down her back, Katara kicks it to Hama without breaking stride. Kana sees her and can't help but smile. Katara is a picture of perfect, as a young princess was meant to be. Her hair was groomed and flowing, slight curls framing the bottom of her strands. She was wearing an elaborate blue dress, one that was neither too tight or too loose for a girl her age. The fabric was a thick material, meant to keep the frigid air from touching the bare skin beneath.

_**We were celebrating the 300**__**th**__** anniversary of our families rule. And that night, no star burned brighter than that of our sweet Katara, my only granddaughter.**_

The music suddenly becomes a flourish of trumpets. Water benders open the elevator doors as the royal family steps out and begins a procession through their subjects. Kana holds out her arm to Katara as she makes it to Kana's side just in time. Katara has a beautiful but slightly impish face, dominated by large, blue, mischievous eyes. She is an abundance of energy and confidence for a girl her age.

The elegant guests sing their admiration as the beautiful and happy Royal family makes its entrance into the ball. They're "the pride of all the Poles." A man known as Iroh, a great General of the Fire Nation and an honored guest of the royal family, invites his young lady love Wu to dance and the entire glittering assembly swings into a glorious sweeping waltz; singing their certainty that the Royal Family of the South will rule forever.

The ball comes into full swing as beautiful couples swirl across the dance floor, including Katara dancing gracefully with her father. Under a long buffet table is a darkly handsome young boy named Zuko, dressed in ragged servant clothes with a shock of dark hair which continually falls across his eyes as he watches the guests enviously. He is clearly of Fire Nation blood, his skin a light shade of peach, his eyes narrowed and a beautiful shade of golden umber. Katara, still waltzing with her father, sees him. Servants cross the room carrying trays of beautiful tropical fruit. The guest "oh" and "ah" at the sumptuous fruit. Katara sees Zuko eyeing it hungrily and without missing a dance step, she grabs a moon peach off the tray and tosses it to Zuko. He catches it and smiles broadly at her.

Suddenly, a hand grabs Zuko and pulls him out from under the table. It is the head servant, Zhao, who pulls Zuko into an open wall panel.

"You're a servant! Never forget your place!" Shinu scolded harshly as Zuko fought against his grip.

"Someday my place will be out there!"

"Never! You're a peasant, Zuko! Back in the kitchen."

The music continues as Zuko is dragged from his hiding place under the table and back into the kitchen. The kitchen was like a circus, hectic and confusing. The servants complain about their demanding employers and mockingly imitate their behaviors; they imply that they have their own "party," that change is coming.

Which back in the ballroom, the royalists are oblivious to the servants discontent and sing their satisfaction with their own lives. Kana sits in a large throne-like chair looking to be very serious and very regal. She slides over to make room for Katara who sits next to her.

"Why were you so late tonight?" Kana asks gently as Katara wraps her fingers together guiltily.

"I was showing Hama something…" Katara lied quickly.

"What were you showing her?"

"How to read." Katara replies sheepishly, her head lowering.

"I thought you were told not to tutor your servants anymore." Kana mentioned impassively.

"I know, but I had to because…" Katara looks up to Kana and sees her smile with pride. Katara knows she doesn't have to explain herself. Quickly, she cuddles into her grandmother. "Oh Gran Gran, why do you have to go back to the North Pole?"

**_She begged me not to return to the North, so I had a very special gift made for her, to make the separation easier for her. For both of us._**

"It's where I've made my home, but I do have something for you…"

Kana reaches from behind the chair and brings out a beautiful music box. Kana takes the key, a thin silver and blue stone, on a blue neck ribbon and winds it up. Music begins and she hands Katara the key. Katara looks it over, the key bearing the inscription "Together in the North."

"Together in the North! Oh, when can we be together in the North?!"

"When you're older." Kana chimes as Katara makes a disgruntled face, causing Kana to laugh.

"Until then, whenever you hear this song, think of me and know that I'm waiting for you."

Kana ties the key around Katara's neck and they embrace. Their moment of bliss is cut off when suddenly the lights begin to fade in and out on the grand chandelier. The people in the ballroom look around bewildered; then, a whirlwind kicks up sending everyone off the dance floor as the whirlwind becomes a tornado.

Suddenly, an albino bat with huge eyes springs out of the funnel, screeching and swooping over the crowd, causing everyone to duck and cover their heads in fear. The tornado reaches its peak and explodes in smoke, leaving a tall ominous man standing alone in the middle of the floor. He is of indeterminate age, towering over other men in the room, his most striking feature are his eyes – which at this moment are burning a fiery red. He is dressed in a flowing red robe with a gold satin rope tied around his waist. Connected to the rope is a glowing reliquary, a mystical lantern.

_But, we would never be together in the North, for dark shadows had descended upon the Royal house of the South. His name was Ozai; we thought he was an ally, but he was a fraud – power-mad and dangerous._

Hakoda, Sokka, Kya, are all huddled together, Zuko peeking out of the wall panel, Kana and Katara clutching onto each other, all of whom are frightened. Hakoda gathered his family together and approached the evil man.

"How dare you return to the palace!"

"But – I am your confidante!" Ozai reminded sarcastically, a wicked smile gracing his lips.

"Confidante. HA! You are a traitor! GET OUT!" Hadoka fumed angrily, pointing beyond Ozai to the door as his face fell from its amused smirk to a low scowl.

"You think you can banish the great Ozai? By the holy powers vested in me, I banish _you_ with a CURSE!" Ozai says menacingly, turning to the crowd as Zuko rushes back into the hall, directly behind Kana and Katara who gasp in fear, clutching each other tightly. "Mark my words, your family's dynasty ends here! You, your wife and children will all die within the forthnight!"

Ozai swings the reliquary, wrapping himself in smoke which seems to grow larger. Eerie moaning noises come from the reliquary. People back away in terror.

"No!" Katara cries, leaving Kana and rushes to stand in front of her father. Still holding her music box, Katara's shaking hands are the only thing that gives away her fear. Ozai spins toward the voice. "We're not afraid of you!" Katara pulls a small amount of water from a nearby fountain and bends it at Ozai, the cold water splashing his face pathetically. There had not been a water bender in Katara's family for generations, let alone a female water bender. She truly was something special.

Ozai turns furious, looking down at the pathetic little girl before him.

"You…my little sweet…you'll be so much fun to kill that I'll save you for last!" Twirling the reliquary again, the moans grow louder as the white bat circles around his head. The smoke that emerges seems to have almost a human shape to it.

The tornado of smoke beings again, whipping into a frenzy and then exploding. The smoke clears and Ozai is gone. As the lights return to normal, the Royal family all stand together and try to look regal and in control once again.

**_Some say Ozai had harnessed all the dark powers of evil and that it was his curse which brought about the end. I will never know for sure. All I do know is that the beauty of our world was soon gone…forever._**

In the palace, where the grand ball had taken place hours earlier, now was a scene of chaos and violence. A portrait of the royal family, a huge frieze which covers an entire wall, singes as the flames creep up the nearby drapery, tinting the room in a red glow. A screaming mob, some in uniform, some not, have crashed into the palace and is heading up the stairs. Most are fire nation blood, some in the mob firing blasts of fire from their tightly closed fists.

Katara bolts up from her bed, hearing the blazing fire beyond her door. Her music box is next to her on her nightstand. In the hallway, mass confusion ensues as the mob is met by a few servants who try to stop them from advancing. Still in nightclothes, the Royal family is being rushed down the hallway. Kana is next to Katara as she stops dead in her tracks.

"My music box!" Katara realizes in a panic, turning around and running back down the hall. Kana tries to stop her, but it is too late.

"Katara, no!" Katara fights her way back into her room with Kana following behind.

Zuko is watching amidst all the confusion and sees among the crowd, Katara running towards her room and follows after her.

Katara grabs her music box as Kana rushes in

"Hurry, child!" She urges, holding out her hand for Katara

There is another loud blaze of fire as Zuko bursts into the room, closing the door behind him.

"No – this way!" He instructs quickly, running to a wall panel and throwing his weight against it. It opens, revealing a passage way. "Go! Run! Out the servant's quarters!"

Kana, enormously grateful, looks at Zuko as he flips his hair out of his face unconsciously.

"Go!" Zuko urges one last time. Kana goes in as Zuko shoves Katara toward the passageway, knocking the music box out of her hand. She reaches for it, but hearing the mob voices growing closer, he pushes her through the panel without it.

"Go!"

Kana quickly pulls Katara deeper into the passageway and Zuko closes the panel just as the mob bursts in.

"Where are they boy?" A beefy looking man asks in a grunt, his hands ready for an attack. Zuko backs away, pointing his fist out with all the strength he can muster, sending a ball of flame towards the man. It misses, but infuriates the man enough for him to send a fireball of his own at the young boy, which unfortunately did not miss its target. The blast lit up the left side of Zuko's face as he buckled in pain, anguishing cries of pain vibrating through his body. Near his crumpled form lies Katara's music box.

The ship port is darkened by the night sky, under siege by royalists trying to board the overcrowded ship and the revolutionaries who are trying to stop them. A touring sleigh pulls up right on the tracks behind the caboose as the boat starts to pull away. Kana and Katara climb out of the sleigh and race for the train, fighting their way through the frenzied and frightened crowd.

Shouts are heard of "The Empress – let her through!" which helps clear the way. Katara reaches the boat first, then turns to see Kana trying to catch up. The boat is gliding along the dock gently, but won't be for long.

"Hurry Gran Gran!"

"Get on Katara, get on!"

Katara refuses to board the boat as a mob of water bending revolutionaries momentarily block the bath of the boat with ice. Katara pushes Kana up the ladder of the ship which puts her a few steps behind as the boat breaks through the ice barriers and begins to speed up. Kana is gripped by other passengers as she reaches out to Katara.

"Grab my hand!" Kana urges as Katara reaches up and takes her hand.

"Don't let go!" Tears are in Katara's eyes as she struggles to keep her grip Suddenly, her small hand is pulled from Kana's grasp and falls out of reach.

"Katara!" Kana cries desperately, watching her young granddaughter stumble, hitting the ground hard. Kana is horrified as she screams for the young girl, "Katara!"

Kana rushes to jump off the boat after her but is caught and held back by the royalist passengers as the boat steams forward, the added motion from the waterbenders on board coasting it quickly along the sea. Kana watches as Katara rises from the ground, her hand outstretched, but she is suddenly swallowed up by the mob.

**_I never saw her again._**

* * *

**A.N: I saw Anastasia on the other day and immediately thought it would be a perfect crossover story to Karata and Zuko. I tried to play with ideas on how to make Zuko the royal instead since that is how it is in the cartoons...but why not switch it up a bit. I kind of like the idea of Zuko being the peasant. This is from a script of the story I found; not gunna lie, I didn't go into great trouble changing it all to be in my own words; the base is there, so I'm just switching up certain points to make it fit with the Avatar theme. Call me lazy, I regret nothing. I will, naturally, add my own scenes down the line because a Zutara story would not be complete without some dirties. Isn't that the whole point? _  
_**


	2. Chapter 2

A gray and ugly post-revolution igloo building with a sign above the door that identifies it: "Young Comrades Without Parents" sits in the ruins of a once great nation. The majestic buildings and palaces that once adorned the ice city were now crumbled and grayed, the white purity of the atmosphere long gone.

Inside the building, children of all ages clean the cold, gray dormitory. Their clothes are ragged and they look underfed. Busy scrubbing the floor, 18 year old Tara is pretty, despite the boy's hand-me-down clothes she is forced to wear. Unlike the others, she is determined not to let her surroundings get to her, so she merrily hums a tune.

The door suddenly slams open and Smellerbee, an eight year old child who is clearly terrified, comes running in followed by Li, a huge woman carrying a leather whip.

"Tara! Tara!" Smellerbee shrieks in a panic.

All of the other kids turn away, not wanting to get involved. Tara focuses on Smellerbee who is shivering with fright and on the verge of tears as Li approaches, swinging the strap menacingly.

"You can't get away from me now!" Li threatens, advances on the young girl.

Tara flickers her wrist, water from the nearby bucket splashing right under Li's unsuspecting foot. Li's feet fly out from under her and she smashes to the floor. Smellerbee hops over her huge body and runs to Tara for safety. Some of the other kids glance over. A chubby girl and a very pretty little girl look at Tara with great admiration – some of the others think she's crazy. Li rises, covered with soap bubbles and spins on Tara who gives her a very innocent smile.

"You! You did this!" Li accuses angrily, pointing at Tara who shrugs. Some of the other children laugh as soap bubbles fly off the enraged woman. She spins on them, her back to Tara.

"Brats! There'll be no super for any of you! Back to work!" She commands, all the while behind her, Tara mimics her outraged face and angry gestures perfectly, causing the children to laugh harder.

Li spins and almost catches Tara. She advances as Smellerbee hides behind Tara's legs.

"Don't touch her." Tara warns. Li turns her glare on the defiant young woman.

"You ragged, skinny little NOTHING! I have had just about enough of you…" Li raises her hand to slap Tara, who holds her ground. Suddenly, Li sniffs the air. As the horrible smell reaches the kids, they all make faces and hold their noses. Li first sniffs under her raised arm, then realizes the cause of the stench.

"Comrade Zhao!" Li says while straightening herself out nervously – this Zhao must be someone very important.

Comrade Zhao stands in the doorway, lecherously eyeing the girls. He is a huge, fleshly man with facial features which are reminiscent of a fish. Li's tone suddenly changes, a flirtatious edge taking over.

"Comrade Zhao! What a lovely surprise! What brings you here?"

"I need…a worker." His eye catches Tara as he looks her up and down, his beady eyes showing a touch of lust for her. "I will take her." He leans close to Tara. "Tomorrow you begin your life's work in my hearing factory. You'll start by cutting off the tails – but if I'm pleased with you, you just may move up to cutting off the heads. How does that sound?"

"About as bad as you smell!" At Tara's outburst, Li moves between them, pulling Zhao away.

"No, no Comrade – you don't want her…" She stuttered anxiously.

"I want her." Zhao's voice was cold and flat, his eyes never moving from Tara.

"That horrible, skinny thing?! She's crazy – she has no memory of anything before she came here! She didn't even know her name! That one is a rotten troublemaker, willful…"

"I'll break her will," Zhao said cutting Li off. "I shall come for you tomorrow at dawn." He touches her face as she pulls away. "you will enjoy serving under me."

Smiling in anticipation, he exits.

"I couldn't break you, but he can!" Li shouted in triumph before turning to leave in a huff. Tara does one more imitation of her, making the children laugh. But as Tara turns away from her audience, her façade fades as she realizes the terror of her future.

When the sun sets, the children huddle in their cots under tattered, thin blankets. Tara is fully dressed, illuminated by the light of a full moon. She ties a dull gray sheet together and anchors the "rope" to an ice cold radiator and throws the other end out of the window. She is about to climb out when she looks at the sleeping children and smiles sadly. She walks over to Smellerbee's bed and puts one hand lovingly on her head and then reaches over and takes the hand of a sleeping little girl, who opens her eyes and smiles.

"Tara?" Smellerbee calls out loudly, the other children waking up as Tara gently shushes her. "Are you running away?" His voice is now a whisper.

"No. I'm running _to_." She corrected.

"Running to? Running to what?" The little girl holding Tara's hand asks in confusion.

"To find my home."

"But you _are_ home." A chubby twelve year old girl says, looking at Tara sadly.

"No. This isn't a home – it's just a building. Home is where you belong and none of us belong here."

"Where is your home, Tara?" Smellerbee asks quietly.

"I'm not sure, but look," Tara shows Smellerbee the key around her neck, revealing the inscription on the back.

"It says "Together in the North." I was wearing this when I came here ten years ago – it's the only way that I know – that I must have been someone someone loved."

"Is your home in the North?" The chubby girl asked and Tara felt the charm's smooth surface between her fingers.

"It might be. I have to go and find out." Tara smiles lovingly at the children, her heart breaking at the thought of having to leave them. "I have to go now, before it gets light."

"But what if we can't ever find where we came from?!" Smellerbee asked anxiously as Katara placed a hand on her small warm cheek.

"Then you'll have to make your own home. Lots of people do." Tara embraces the children and walks to the window.

"Tara! What if _we_ can't find anyone who loves us?" Tara can hear the sadness and nervousness in her gentle voice.

"Then come find me." Smellerbee noticeably relaxes and cuddles into her bed as Tara smiles lovingly before crawling out of the window. Tara begins her climb down, testing the knots carefully as she goes. The knots hold tight, but the old sheet rips in half, sending her plummeting to the ground. Quickly, she raises her hands up and the snow beneath her rises and breaks her fall. She exhales in relief and stands, starting off into the darkness.

* * *

A glorious bright dawn creeps over the horizon. Tara stands at the edge of the hill, looking down on the city that still held a aura of elegance and magic. Tara passes through the countryside toward the city; a peasant family waves to her as she goes by as a very fancy sleigh zooms by. People stare at her as she walks into the edge of the city. She is captivated by all the activity, something going on in every corner of the majestic city.

Tara does not see a cute little polar bear puppy with a large bone in his mouth, being chased along the sidewalk by a pack of much larger dogs until he bolts across Tara's path forcing her to skid to a stop. She watches him as he scoots into an alley, followed by the pack. On reflex, Tara runs into the alley after him.

The little puppy is trapped as the pack surrounds him, ready to pounce when Tara leaps into the middle of the circle. The pack is startled, but begins to advance on both Tara and the puppy. Tara crouches, her arms rising fluidly beside her as the snow surrounding them rises, forming a gracefully tornado. It's nothing that hurts the pack but it is enough to startle them. To scare them off for good, she blows the snow drift out to the pack and watches as they turn off running. Tara turns to the puppy who looks up at her gratefully, wagging his tail. Tara picks up the bone and puts it back in his mouth.

"I think you should be more careful about who you invite to dinner!" Tara teases as the puppy nods and lets out a soft bark. Tara pats him and turns to continue on her journey.

In the streets of the Southern City, Tara doesn't see the little puppy running like a little maniac behind her. Tara approaches a tall white building with a sign that reads "The People's Bureau of Bureaucracy." She heads up the stairs, the puppy breathing heavily from his run as he continues following her. He almost reaches her when the heavy door slams in his face. He slumps against it, panting. Tara enters the stops when she sees lines and lines of people which seem to go on forever. She walks down the side of one line, trying to figure out which one to stand in.

"Could someone tell me…"

"End of the line!" One of the citizens shout.

"Which line?"

"Any line."

Tara takes an annoyed step at the back of the nearest line and waits. As she gets closer to the window she leans towards the person in front of her.

"Is this the right line to get papers to travel?"

"Travel? Travel to where?" The old man asks exasperated.

"To the North Pole. I have to get to the North Pole."

"The North Pole?! What do they have in the North Pole that they don't have here?" He seemed insulted by her suggestion and Tara sighs in frustration. She finally reaches the window and looks up innocently at the hard looking man.

"Is this where I get traveling papers?"

"Exit visa!" He demands, worn lines on his face from the apparent permanent scowl that graces it.

"Exit visa?"

"No exit visa, NO TICKET!" He shouts, slamming the window shut in her face. Tara jumps back and huffs. _Rude_.

An old woman behind her taps Tara's shoulder, her wrinkled form reaching towards Tara's lean figure.

"Pss!" She hisses, her hand cupping her mouth in a whisper. "See Zuko! He can help you." Tara's eyes raise in interest as she bends down to the old woman.

"Where can I find him?" Tara whispers excitedly.

"In the old palace. But you did not hear it from me!"

Tara nods in understanding, turning as the old woman motions for her to go. Tara thinks silently for a moment before a smile graces her lips.

"Zuko."

Tara wades into the crowded street, the small puppy getting tangled in the legs of waiting citizens as he chases after her. Tara stops suddenly, sniffing the air. Her eyes widen as she recognizes the stench that is floating through the air. She spins around and see Zhao directly across the street. Zhao is on a mission to find her and almost as if he can sense her, he turns just as a sleigh passes by. Tara is gone.

Tara is clinging to the side of the sleigh as it slides across the street. The puppy looks, his face dropping knowing he'll never catch up to her now. Suddenly, the sleigh hits a hole in the street and Tara is knocked off into the slushy snow. Happily, the puppy trots off in her direction.

Tara approaches a café and approaches two peasants.

"Excuse me, where can I find the old palace?" She asks, but is quickly shooed away. A passerby who overhears her question, stops and leans to Tara in a whisper.

"It could be that way…if you just follow the grayed snow path!" He pointed along the street and Tara sees what he is referring to. "But you didn't hear it from me!"

"I wish they'd stop telling me they didn't tell me!" She says to herself as the puppy barks, getting Tara's attention.

"What are you doing…" Just then, she catches another whiff of something foul in the air. Tara ducks quickly into a doorway and loses the puppy. She peeks out and sees a garbage wagon full of dead fish and rotten food pass by. She signs with relief, it wasn't Zhao, it just smelled like him.

Tara starts back on the path to what she hopes will lead to the palace.

* * *

Inside a theatre a few blocks from the city square, a waiting room is filled with young women of various shapes and sizes, reading aloud from a piece of paper. We hear many variations of "Oh, Gran Gran! It's me, Katara. I've waited so long to see you".

On the stage, an actress stands in front of two men, one old pump man with a jolly smirk on his face, and another younger man in his early 20s with a very defining scar along the left side of his face, covering the whole of his eye.

"Nice, nice, very nice." Zuko chants sarcastically as the old man next to him shakes his head snickering amusingly. Zuko looks to him, amazement etched on his face, and not in a good way. Iroh looks to the man and snickers louder at his reaction. "O-ok. Thank you. Thanks!" Zuko says scribbling the name out in front of him. "Next please!"

Another girl takes her spot, one that immediately proves to be a hundred times worse. She throws her over-sized coat to the ground revealing a bone-thin body and as she opens her mouth to speak, a harsh, deep set voice comes out and Zuko shudders. He sits with his mouth open in astonishment as Iroh's head drops in defeat to the table below.

"Oh brother." Zuko scowls while crossing out another name.

The night continues in this fashion, none of the girls matching Zuko's vision of the perfect princess. By the end of the night, the two leave the theatre together.

"I don't know how many more of these I can sit through, Iroh, all of these girls; none of them have what it takes to be Katara. It is no use." Zuko says defeatedly as Iroh wraps a comforting arm around the young man.

"Patience Zuko, she is here somewhere. For all we know, she could be right under our noses!" Iroh encourages optimistically.

Tara is running up the stairs as Zuko walks out and they collide; her forehead banging Zuko right under his nose. Zuko grabs his upper lip in pain, over reacting.

"Ouch! That really hurt!"

"I'm sorry…I'm…" Tara beings as Zuko cuts her off.

"That's quite a hard head you've got there, boy."

Tara raises her eyebrows at his comment, but in her old hand-me-down boy clothes and hat pulled low, she could easily be mistaken for a boy.

"I'm looking for Zuko. I need traveling papers – to the North Pole. I heard Zuko could help me."

Zuko and Iroh exchange a wary look. Zuko looks around and motions to Iroh to handle it while he walks ahead nonchalantly.

"Who did you hear it from?" Iroh asks kindly.

"I heard it from everyone who said I didn't hear it from them! Do you know Zuko?" Tara is clearly frustrated but is determined not to give up and keeps up with Iroh who is now walking after Zuko.

"Providing travel papers is illegal!" Iroh says loudly for show before bending down closer to the young woman. "I know Zuko well – perhaps I can help you. Provided you have enough money to pay for this service."

"Well, I don't have any money." Tara says in embarrassment as Iroh smiles.

"Good day!" He says patting her on the head before walking away.

"Maybe I can sell something…" She begins desperately, looking around herself for anything valuable. She grabs her necklace, but immediately turns away that idea. When she looks up, Iroh is gone. She sighs and sits down as the puppy hops on her lap.

"Sorry boy, I have to go." She says, patting his head gently. The puppy barks as she stands. "No, you can't come with me. I'm leaving." Once again, the puppy barks and she laughs.

"Listen little guy, I have no money, no food, and no way to get to the North Pole. I'm the last person you should be following!" She pats him once more on the head before taking off in the direction of Iroh and Zuko.

Tara spots Iroh and Zuko turning the corner in the distance. She runs, trying to catch up with them. She turns the corner and stops seeing the palace in the distance, only now it's run down and partially burned. Tara is taken back. She stares, fascinated by it, moved by it. As the sun sets behind the palace, it's bathed in a beautiful golden light.

Inside the palace, Iroh is cooking a pot of tea on a small fire while Zuko is sitting by the window, staring at the music box that Katara dropped the night of the revolution.

"Even if we find her, what makes you think the empress will even see us?" Iroh asks, holding the steaming cup of tea to his lips. Zuko holds up the music box.

"She'll see us."


End file.
